Week 31: March 6, 2017 - Time flies, almost as fast as missionaries going downhill

Hey everyone!

Glad to get a chance to send out an update, the past week has been
pretty big. No major updates or crazy changes (yet), but lots of
amazing things!

First, the biggest news was probably the Whiting conference. So he
didn't have to go to every single zone, we met in Kumamoto, and had
Nagasaki zone come down, and Kagoshima come up, bringing in all maybe
100 missionaries together. So, it was pretty cool to see most the
mission gathering in one place, realizing that we march united with
the knowledge of truth. But besides just seeing everyone, we got to
learn from a General Authority, one of the guys who speaks in general
conference! It was amazing to hear some of the wisdom he shared, both
about the gospel, about our missions, and about life afterwards. He
shared many things, but one of my favorites was the idea that Gods
work is both a work and a wonder. Oftentimes as missionaries we focus
on the work part. We do missionary  work, because that's what we're
called to do. But we need to stop and slow down, realizing that this
is also a wonder! Right now I'm sitting in the middle of Japan, typing
next to another white guy as we prepare to go out and teach in
Japanese. How wonderful is that?!?

And more wonderful than the fact that we are here, the fact that we
carry the Book of Mormon, translated not just from the plates into
English, but from that to Japanese, is wonderful. And on top of that,
we carry with us the authority to change lives. For example, this past
week we met with Kodzuma again. Already from the first time I meet him
I can tell he is a happier man. Where normal people look inwards, he's
starting to look out, trying to improve himself. And it shows, as he
reads the Book of Mormon he is finding this change. Or teaching Izuno,
who has spent most his life wondering how to cope with guilt, not sure
where he will go after death, among other deep questions. Knowing that
however imperfect our Japanese is, we are helping him, showing him the
perfect gospel of Christ, showing him a source of hope, is wonderful!
I've already seen as I've personally focused on these wonders, I've
become happier, more positive, and I love this work!

On top of just working with these amazing people, as missionaries we
also have the pleasure of biking around to meet them. It's another
wonder to bike around the countryside between appointments, though
sometimes that means we are in a hurry. So, for p-day Elder Erickson
and I spent some time in the mountains, enjoying and soaking it in.
Japan has such a rich culture and history, and I can't even imagine
the half of it. But even being around it, knowing that parts of this
country have been unchanged for hundreds of years, and being able to
see and be around those parts, it's just amazing. Again, there isn't a
better thing I can say than I've been blessed with this opportunity to
serve, and I love the time I've had here. God truly does watch over
each and every one of us, and we will see it as we slow down and look.

That's it for this week, love all of you back home! Thanks for all
your emails and letters!

Elder Mitchell Woodhouse

Week 30: Feb 27, 2017 - The Standard Cats

Greetings from the land that might be getting warmer!

It's amazing how much more attention I pay to weather now that we go
out in it every day. So it might just me getting used to winter after
a couple months. But I think I might have decided spring is my new
favorite season, cause it's not (as) cold anymore! Either way, we get
the chance to go out every day, and share a message of joy and
gladness, so I know I'm not complaining. Just in a few months, I've
realized I'm so much more happy, and if there is any way other people
can feel this, I'll be out talking to them about it.

And, sometimes, ok, most of the time, it's in Japanese! But it's ok,
because while I still don't know everything, I know enough. Not on my
own of course, but as God has a need for me to speak, I can speak.
It's probably good, because I've gotten quite adept at talking in
English, and I can't thing of what I would say if I was talking to
people in my mother tongue. But it would work out somehow!

But my improvements, and/or lack thereof, aren't as important as the
people we get to meet. One of my favorite from this week is a guy
named Noguchi who invited us over for dinner Thursday night. He met
the missionaries right before I got to Omuta, but he loves English,
and has been coming to Eikaiwa. The coolest thing about him though is
that he has never been outside of Japan. His English knowledge is
completely conversational, but it's only from self study for years. He
wanted to speak English, so he found a way. And now, it's payed of,
and he still studies, still tries to improve. If I can learn anything
from this, it's the importance of goals. When we set goals, and work
our hardest to obtain them, nothing can stop us.

And when the goals are righteous, like a missionaries desire to share
this love, we have God walking besides us to help us along. Like
Monday night, when we had an appointment cancel on us, only to house
into an amazing mother who welcomed us in two houses later. Or Friday,
when on Junkai in Nagamine (about an hour south) we met a lady who
lives in, of all places, Omuta, where I'm from. Or like I mentioned
earlier, having two white guys, neither over 20, walking around
teaching people in Japanese. This truly is a worked guided by a power
greater than we can even fathom.

Of course, we also get to have fun while sharing the gospel. For
example, sometimes we find cats (sorry for the blurry picture), and
they jump on our laps. Or they follow us around a neighborhood. It's
small things, like stopping to smell the roses, that really complete
the experience. I just started, but I wouldn't trade anything in the
world for this opportunity.

Love you all,
Elder Mitchell Woodhouse

Week 29: February 20, 2017 - Omuta, week 1 (or 2, I lost track)

Hey everyone!

It's great to get the chance to email again. It's only been one week,
but so much has happened. For starters, the big news was spoiled last
week, but I'm in Omuta city now! I don't know exactly how far the trip
was, but it took most of Thursday, and gave me my first full immersion
experience in Japan, because when you transfer, you're on your own (at
least part of the way). So, like any good missionary, I got to use
some nice alone time to think, and enjoy the beautiful countryside.
And then, I ended up miles away, right outside of Kumamoto-Ken, with a
new companion, new zone, and new area. But it's great, because the
Lord prepares people all around the world, no matter what city you
were in.

Being honest, I was worried about the move, because George was
preparing for his baptism on the 18th, and I really wanted to see it
and be there for him. But what do I find in Omuta, but two amazing
people preparing for their own baptisms. Sadly for me, neither of them
are Americans, so my into to teaching, English style, is now over.
Yet, I love both of them. Ippo is an extremely kind man, who loves the
missionaries, and has committed himself to reading two pages from the
Book of Mormon a day. The gospel has already changed him, helping him
to overcome smoking, and I am just amazed by how prepared he is. The
other person I've got the pleasure of working with is named Kodzuma,
and he also has seen miracles. Due to medical reasons, his legs
normally hurt a lot, but he was able to come to church yesterday, by
bike, and you could tell he loved the peace within. As I get to meet
both of them more, I will definitely share more about both of these
fantastic men.

Besides those two investigators, Omuta also has a bunch of less
actives that we as the missionaries get the pleasure of helping. Some
are old war veterans, some young families, but everyone has their own
story. In the little time I've had here so far, I can promise that
those stories are what make people unique. When you listen to a story,
it just helps you understand what is going on in a persons life, and
how to help them. Just getting to know people has been by far my
favorite thing so far.

And getting to know people is easy when you have an amazing companion.
Elder Erickson is amazingly genuine, and the people we meet can tell.
From less actives to investigators to members to random people on the
street, we have just been able to share the love of God. At the core,
that's all we are doing, and as people realize that the missionaries
aren't trying to sell something, you can see their hearts open up. As
just one sentence examples, the mother who gave us her love on behalf
of our own mothers, the people who walked with us to help us find an
apartment, a priest who talked with us to share his side, the atheist
with deep questions on life, the old man who taught us Japanese. I
could go on, but those are just some of the stories we've seen in the
past week. And there are many, many more to find. I love being out
here, having the chance to meet all of these people, because even
though I can't speak perfectly (or even well) these are real people I
can share joy with.

Wow, that got long really fast. I'll talk more about the members next
week, because they are amazing, and so helpful. But I just wanted to
close quickly with a segment of scripture I found, from the speech of
Samuel the Lamanite. "Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather
than light?" We can, as the Nephites of old, make that choice, because
our mentality determines everything. Let us all press on in our own
lives, choosing to be happy, and I promise we will find the greater
light.

Love you all,
Elder Woodhouse

Week 28 : Feb 12, 2017 - Ended Up In...Omuta

Hey everyone,

Sorry, this week is going to be a really short email. We only have a
little time, because the Kumamoto stake had a temple trip this
morning, and the missionaries were invited. It was awesome! That, and
I am now in the city of Omuta, on Kyushu! I've moved from the four man
apartment in Yamaguchi to the two man of Omuta, and it's just me and
Elder Erickson running the city. I'll send more on everything next
week (a week from Monday), just wanted to say I was alive!

Love you all,
Elder Woodhouse

Week 27: February 7, 2017 - Goodbye Yamaguchi...

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the late email, I forgot to mention that this week is
transfer week. It should be moving back to a regular schedule next
week, with one Tuesday transfer pday every six weeks, but the
schedules got messed up with Christmas, so this kinda just popped up.
The big news from transfers is that Elder Osborne is going to be
training, which means I'm leaving Yamaguchi! Sadly, we haven't got
transfer calls yet, so I don't know where I'll end up, but it's almost
certain that I'll be moving. I'm sad to be leaving, but if Elder
Osborne was a good companion for me, he'll be a great trainer, and
I'll just have to find someone else!

In terms of other news from this past week, we've been up to a few fun
things. Elder Reed from Hofu is finishing his mission on Thursday, so
for his next to last p-day he and Elder Serville came up to stay with
us until district meeting the next day. It was fun just to have more
elders around, and we spent most the day playing board games and
talking in the ashiyu's. The highlight of that would have either been
eating birthday pie Monday night, or going to MK on Tuesday. MK is a
type of restaurant called shabu-shabu, which means all you can eat
meat, cooked on you table in boiling sauce. Between the four elders at
my table, we are about 4 pounds of beef, pork, and chicken, so as a 19
year old man, I obviously enjoyed it. But being serious, it's sad to
have another person I knew going home. Between Elder West, Welch, and
now Reed, that's one a transfer so far! They were all great examples,
and I loved working with them.

The second big thing was that Hugo Imai got baptized Saturday morning.
He is the branch president’s last son, so it's a member baptism, but as
missionaries, we got invited to help out and feel the spirit. It was
actually amazing, because we confirmed him as well, and to have the
chance to help someone else feel the Spirit, to have it with him
forever, was really cool. Hugo is the cutest little kid, and it just
reminds me of when Brad was younger. In the picture, he is in the
black shirt (we may have helped with the party afterwards as well).

Our last bit of news is mainly a logistical thing, because the
Yamaguchi district had District Conference this week in Ube. As things
worked out, George was in Ube as well, and not only came over to
conference, but also invited us to his house for lunch. It's one of my
favorite things to have this relationship with him, and I can't wait
to build the same relationships with different people all around
Japan. As we center our lives on the gospel, we just become happier
and friendlier, and George is a prime example of it to me.


That's all for this week, love everyone lots!

Goodbye for the final time from Yamaguchi!

Elder Mitchell Woodhouse

Week 26: January 30, 2017 - Moving Forward

Winter came, and it might have passed!

This past week has been warming up, ever so gradually, until
yesterday, when the liquid that fell from the sky was rain, instead of
snow! That's really, all the weather updates, I have, and this week
brought a couple of other big announcements that are more intriguing.

First, to start of with the smaller of the big pieces of news, we took
a road trip! It was a while in the making, but to help George figure
out what church was actually like we had been trying to get him to the
Iwakuni military branch, about 90 minutes away. Yesterday, everything
fell in place, and Brother Hidaka drove me, George, Elder Osborne,
Sister Fukumi, and Sister Nozomi up. It was amazing to be at church in
English, and to see so many Americans in one place! But more than just
the experience of going to an English branch, I loved the members that
took us there. They went knowing they would understand next to
nothing, but out of the kindness of their hearts knew it would help
George and took us. And, on top of just driving, they made us amazing
food! I love the chances we have to work with genuinely good people.

Which, in its own way brings us to the next big piece of news, the
worldwide missionary broadcast from from Thursday. Without boring you
with the details, missionaries have now been giving more freedom. For
example, the schedule has been replaced with one that gives us the
chance to study whenever we feel is the least productive, and gives us
the chance to find people whenever. For us, it's crazy to think that
we are being trusted with the keys to guide this work. But at the same
time, to have the freedom to really connect people, even though it
shouldn't change much, it just feels better. I'm excited to see how
much good we can do going forward.

Sorry if that doesn't make any sense, but I'm obviously still a touch
disoriented. Love you all!

Elder Woodhouse

Week 25: January 23, 2017 - Everything Still Feels New...

Greetings from Yamaguchi!

This time I know I've mentioned it, but it's winter now! Being out on
a bike makes me realize how cold it can get. But, there is no place
that I would rather be than here in Japan, teaching the gospel and
meeting so many amazing people. Even with snow falling, it just makes
the landscape more beautiful, and drives us to work harder. No matter
the weather, it's always the most wonderful time of the year when you
are a missionary!

And the reason for that is the people that you can meet, and how you
can see them change. For example, last Tuesday Elder Osborne and I
were housing in a neighborhood, and everyone was shutting the door on
us. Everyone, except a way nice 12 year old boy. We talked to him for
about 5 minutes, then his mom came out, and next thing we knew we were
getting fed and having a discussion on God inside their nice, warm
house. And, both mother and son made time to come to Eikaiwa, and are
just genuinely good people. The best part is that this isn't just an
isolated experience. Every time things feel hard, there is always
something to brighten my day. Sometimes it's big like this, and
sometimes it's as small as just being happy, but without fail it is
there.

The biggest news from this week isn't even practically being adopted
on Tuesday though. On Wednesday we met with George, and received some
of the greatest news I could dream of. We were just discussing the
general idea of agency, and how Gods plan centers around us choosing
for ourselves. So, out of the blue, George tells us he wants to make
the choice to be baptized! It's an answer to prayers, and I know he is
ready. I can't take any credit, but just by meeting with him the past
months I have seen a light grow in him as he studies the Book of
Mormon. Through baptism, he will always be able to feel that warmth,
and commit to his part in the eternal plan, on day to be clean and
happy for eternity. I'm way excited to keep working with him in the
future.

Lastly, my cultural dose for this week has taught everyone that white
guys should not be in charge of making mochi. On Saturday the branch
had a mochi making party, which is when you basically pound rice and
water into a sticky paste, flavor as you would like, and eat it. But,
for some reason pounding rice into a paste is much harder than it
sounds. I don't know why, but when Elder Harris and I tried, it came
out much worse than when the older Japanese men made it. Maybe in two
years I'll have enough skills to do it, but only time will tell.

I love you all, and miss everyone! Thank you so much for your letters,
both emails and snail mail, and know I read and cherish every single
one I get. Until next week!

Elder Mitchell Woodhouse